I believe it times we all must accept that fact that Star Wars is NOT just the OT. Sayinhg Star Wars is just the OT or maybe even the "Skywalker" storyes (PT AND OT) is like Spiderman is comics 1-4. Star Wars is now and forever will be a much bigger world. For good or bad that Star Wars we grow up on, not just the movies but the dogma of Star Wars we knew and loved (us over age 35ish) is gone. I will wait and hope to love this new Star Wars.

So now I guess Leia gets added to their Princess line? Tinkerbell becomes a Jedi? The next movie will be called Princess Leia & the Seven Ewoks? Maybe make Vader not Luke's father bc that would b more kid friendly? :-(

I'm trying to b open minded about this but I'm having a hard time. Maybe I can accept it eventually. As long as they DO NOT change the opening w the logo & crawl sequence. THAT is traditional STAR WARS.

If this is a continuation of the OT, I think it should focus on new characters. Or with the (adult) kids of the Big 3, with the Big 3 making cameos. If with new characters then in the future with one of them being a Jedi.

One big thing about this 'transaction' is that Disney now owns ILM.
Makes me wonder if they wanted to have the top F/X company even more than Star Wars itself.

Now, every f/x heavy movie they make saves them $10's (maybe $100's) of millions.

I'm sure that was a huge part of the reason. The prequels cost a lot less than comparable blockbusters because they had the best F/X company in the world in house. The benefits to all Disney future films is immediately apparent.

As for the rest of it. Yeah I'm gonna go the "Marvel is autonomous and still has Feige etc as their passionate creative execs" (whether or not you like the MCU it's managers know their comics, I don't see why LucasFilm will be any different at this stage. Even if they fully take over there's no reason on earth they'd want to get rid of the opening crawl, and they'll almost certainly have the green LucasFilm logo just like Marvel has it's own logo, and PIXAR. Shame about the FOX trumpets though.

I'm gonna leave freaking out over Ep VII until we get some concrete news. I will say though, another SW film potentially starting filming next year or early 2014? I'm still trying to process that.

I've said this elsewhere, but plans for the Sequel Trilogy have been 'in train' since June (as per an article called 'On the Brink of the Future' posted on the Official Star Wars Blog by Pablo Hidalgo), so the one decision (the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney) did not directly result in the other (the making of the Sequel Trilogy). The two announcements simply coincided with one another.

Have you guys seen Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher or Harrison Ford now days? I cant see Mark running around with a saber or Carrie in her slave outfit. Also I dont think FORD would ever do another Star Wars movies do you

To me it shows no disrespect to other movies to say that Star Wars is more than just a movie. It's not so much that on movie-making terms it is the best thing ever (although there are some elements of great movie-making to it) as it is that its accumulated effect on society is so much greater, almost infinitely so, than any other movie.

I can't believe all the negativity. I feel like saying hallelujah! Hasn't just about everyone waited for the day that Star Wars and Indy for that matter were out of Lucas' hands? Just because its Disney, doesn't mean that it is going to be kiddified anymore than the Star Wars movies already were anyways. In fact, look back over Disney's catalog, there are some pretty dark "kids" movies in there. Lucas Arts and Disney have had good collaborations in the past. And best of all? Now people like Joss Whedon, Peter Jackson etc, will have the opportunity to write/direct these movies. Whoever gets attached to work on a Star Wars movie from now on, will have without a doubt been mega fans of the original films themselves. I consider that safer than Lucas releasing another film himself.

I don't see this news as anything other than positive.

Please not Jackson! Sorry, but he is not the right person to direct these! LOTR is a totally different animal.

I disagree. Jackson knew the heart and soul of the Rings' book series and conveyed it beautifully on film. I'm sure Star Wars would be a good challenge for him, but one that he can manage. Nolan, Del Toro, Cameron, Spielberg, and the list goes on and on all have this same ability, too.

Jackson would have to adapt to doing a very different style of movie making. The pacing and editing of the rings movies was very different than SW. For one thing, Lucas does a decent job of getting to the point. Jackson tends to let sequences play out in a more traditional way. Remember, the original cut of A new hope back in 77 was edited this way and it did not seem to do well with those who watched it. Then Lucas opted for a more aggressively edited movie.

I doubt that Jackson would do it anyway. He would want too much money, I think. Disney will go with younger talent. Still, who knows!

So, an Episode VII in 2015, to be followed by VIII and IX (featuring the futher adventures of Luke and the original heroes - with the original actors?), which will in turn be followed by even more (one-off?) films in the future - check.

Lucas has handed off his story ideas for the sequel(s) and will continue on as a consultant - check.

Disney says they are excited about adding live action SW to their collection of television properties - check.

I was disheartened when I heard that George had allowed a minority group of vocal critics to scare him off from the idea of exploring any further SW films, but it now seems as though this wasn't the case. It is sad to think LucasFilm is no longer an independent, but here George has signed-off on a very lucrative deal which will ensure the long-term survival of the franchise. I am having mixed emotions to be sure, but call me crazy - part of those emotions include a very real excitment for the possibilities of the future!

Not gonna happen

I'm not sure what exactly you're saying you don't expect to happen, but these were not suppositions on my part, rather they all come from an online article from foxnews which quotes Disney and LucasFilm representatives. Also, given Fox's history with the franchise, I see no reason to doubt the veracity of the claims.

Exactly how long is this franchise going to continue churning out new movies or television series? Forever? Will there be a time when someone realizes it is time to end the story?

I think that is the point though. The sequels are for all generations but specifically for the next generation. Disney is a corporation that looks to stand, well, forever. Take of that what you will, but I think they intend to keep the franchise going and that is what Lucas wants. If disney lives forever, than hopefully, at least for Lucas, Star Wars does too.

Have you guys seen Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher or Harrison Ford now days? I cant see Mark running around with a saber or Carrie in her slave outfit. Also I dont think FORD would ever do another Star Wars movies do you

Why would they have the old characters do EXACTLY what they did 30 years ago? That's why most of the EU sucks, because the authors can't think outside of the box. I can see Hamill doing a cameo, but he obviously wouldn't be in a action oriented role. Nor would Fisher somehow be a slave on dead Jabba's barge again.
As for announcing the movie at the same time they announced the buyout - I think that's excellent. It shows they're extremely interested in the brand, and they push forward very aggressively to bring some life back into it. I like how open they've been about their future plans, instead of taking the "we'll see" approach.

Okay folks, wikipedia provides a good reference (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_sequel_trilogy) on the history of information doled out over time regarding the potential subject matter of the sequel trilogy. Considering Lucas stated today that he's drafted treatments, it's not unlikely that there may be some elements worthy of further speculation that can be gleaned from this wikipedia article. Has this already been covered somewhere?

In the old days you had theforce.net, Tbone's Star Warz, jedinet, aicn, and a half-dozen other players that one could rely on for good research articles delving into spoiler speculation, but who's still around these days? Back in the day I knew this stuff, but I went and spawned with my wife and all my free time was effectively neutered.

Here we go again! I remember spending way too much time obsessing on speculations and finding spoilers for the prequels!

I can't wait to see what thay have in store for us. Lucas himself said that he has an outline of what the new films would be about and that production has already started. I can now picture Luke playing a grandfather role to a bunch of kids, whether they be related or not.